AUGUST 21 2010 - 37 54' 40.85" N, 122 20' 48.52" W
When we bought Circe she was berthed in Alameda, which was further away from home than we wanted to commute until we could move aboard, so, a new slip was needed! After a lot of research and prowling around the marinas in the North Bay looking for somewhere that combined good facilities, an easy commute and a reasonable price we finally settled on Marina Bay Yacht Harbour in Richmond for Circe's new home. We managed to get an upwind slip on a dock out of the way of the strongest of the prevailing winds.
When we bought Circe she was berthed in Alameda, which was further away from home than we wanted to commute until we could move aboard, so, a new slip was needed! After a lot of research and prowling around the marinas in the North Bay looking for somewhere that combined good facilities, an easy commute and a reasonable price we finally settled on Marina Bay Yacht Harbour in Richmond for Circe's new home. We managed to get an upwind slip on a dock out of the way of the strongest of the prevailing winds.
The marina is relatively new and is built on the site of the old Henry J. Kaiser Shipyard where all of the Liberty and Victory Class cargo ships were built during WW2. The weather is generally a bit better there than in the marinas further west and the Bay fog burns off earlier than elsewhere during the summer months. It is close to open water so there isn't much motoring needed before 'sails up'. Our particular slip doesn't lend itself to easily getting in under sail but everything else seems OK so we'll see how things go.
Below are a few pics we took on our trip from Alameda to Richmond. In the interest of speed and direct routing, because the clock, tide state and wind direction were all against us, we elected to motor, giving the Perkins a good work out! It ran like a champ, +/- 2500 rpm for 3 hours straight with nary a hiccup.
Container handling gantries in the Oakland Estuary. The story goes that George Lucas used them as the inspiration for his Imperial Walker design in the Star Wars movies.
More mega cranes. Bay Bridge dead ahead with the Golden Gate behind it in the haze.
We couldn't believe this ferry.....flying along at about 15 knots and passing so close to this Islander 26 who got the bejesus bounced out of him, as did we. What a jerk!
These container ships are amazing in size and capacity. When you see the containers stacked like this its easy to see why some of them end up in the drink when the weather goes bad in mid ocean!
The Skipper, feigning nonchalance while tooling along next to these Leviathans. They make you feel really small and insignificant!
Bay Bridge with city front and embarcadero beyond.
Original double-deck steel eastern span of Bay Bridge with new concrete single-deck span beyond.
Another old/new Bay Bridge shot.
Admiral at the helm.
Northern tip of Treasure Island at left with Alcatraz and Golden Gate beyond
These barges bring the pre-cast deck sections for the new bridge span to the assembly point. Between trips they are moored out in the north bay. Easy to see in daylight but at night....not so much!
As usual for weekends at this time of year there were several club races going on around the North Bay. We had to navigate around the many turning markers and time our crossing of the various courses when the racers were at the other end!
The Red Oak Victory berthed in the Point Potrero Channel near the entrance to Marina Bay Yacht Harbour. She is one of the last restorable examples of the cargo ships built in Kaiser's famous shipyard. The Victory Class ships replaced the Liberty Class ships late in WW2. The Red Oak Victory was built back in 1944, about a half mile further east from her present berth, and she is now a museum while under restoration.
Circe's new home, Marina Bay Yacht Harbour, Richmond.
Home sweet home....if you listen carefully you can hear the Perkins panting heavily after it's 3 hour work out!
No comments:
Post a Comment